Christmas Break!

We’ve officially taken our longest vacation ever (well, together as a married couple anyway- we really like vacationing) . Three whole weeks of fun- and we still like each other! We took a little time off of blogging to discover some of the riches Central America has to offer. Today we will re-cap our three weeks of adventure for all of our blog readers

Week One: Nelson Family Fun! After spending Christmas in La Ceiba, our family went out to Roatan for a little island fun. There we enjoyed a canopy tour where we zip-lined through the jungle on cables and harnesses.
Post-canopy tour was the SNUBA adventure. No, this is not a typo- snuba is a combination between scuba diving and snorkeling. While attached to air hoses and scuba mouthpieces, we dove down to 20 feet underwater while still breathing- no special training required. While the men were out catching some gigantic fish (our freezer is very full now), my mom and I spent some time on the beach eating chocolate chip cookies and reading some books. We spent our last evening eating some of the fish the guys caught- specially prepared by the fisherman’s wife- and enjoying the sunset.

Tom and I came back to La Ceiba to see the Nelsons off and to check in on Ruby. She spent her Christmas break staying with her mom. The dog reunion was a great success. Ruby and her mom played so hard that our pup actually injured her leg playing so hard. She’s limping around on 3 legs today, but we keep encouraging her to rest it up. She was happy to see us, but a little sad to lose her best playmate ever (and the people who took such great care of her.)

Roatan part II was a bit rainier than the week before. We went back with the intention of completing our scuba diving certification, but the weather didn’t cooperate so well. Nevertheless, we’re happy for an excuse for another weekend trip sometime soon to get under that open water.

We left the rainy beaches for some chilly Guatemalan culture. At 5 am we boarded a bus in La Ceiba and 17 hours later, we arrived in Antigua, Guatemala. This beautiful little colonial city is located just 45 minutes outside of Guatemala City. The city has worked hard to restore the Spanish colonial vibe, complete with courtyard cafes, fountains, and some cool ruins. Our hotel was charming, and even had a Jacuzzi on the rooftop terrace where we enjoyed the sunset.

While the city itself was charming, and a welcome break from the typical Honduran food, perhaps the highlight of our Antigua visit was the hike to an active volcano. After being dormant for a century, Pacaya violently erupted in 1965, and has been actively erupting ever since. Our trip included a one-hour drive up to a village at the foot of the volcano. Upon arrival, we hiked with our group up the 3 kilometer path up the mountain. This was a challenging hike at times, as we climbed over (cold) lava rocks for 30 minutes of the 1 ½ hour ascent. We were rewarded with an amazing sunset on some lava rocks that were melting people’s shoes. Even more exciting was the hot lava that was oozing down just 4 feet from where we stood. It was hot- but really really cool!

We loved Antigua, and will definitely return.
From Antigua, we traveled back across the border to Copan Honduras. More about our Copan trip and some of the awesome highlights tomorrow!